Shi Gemu (Death Game)
by avatarlemon
Summary: My sister and I have always had bad luck with electronics, doctor said we just distribute EMF's strangely, but its stronger then that. On the release date of SAO, I convinced my sister to play. Now I'm the one responsible if she dies. There's nothing I can do but play along side her. What could go wrong? I suck at titles. OC's. Follows cannon basically...
1. Chapter 1

"It's beautiful," I sighed, hugging the new nerve gear helmet, all the while staring at the cover of 'Sword Art Online' in awe. Sword Art Online, or SAO for short was the first ever VRMMORPG, and thanks to our rich dad living far away in America, we had one of the 10,000 copies released. By 'we,' I mean myself and my older sister, Yumiko.

"I can't wait to play it!" I squealed, hugging the helmet tighter. Then, with one last squeeze, I sat it next to the game case to admire.

"Yeah, that's if you don't break it first," Yumiko said, not even half heartedly. Her eyes were still glued to her smart phone.

"I would never!" I gasped, gently kissing the top of the nerve gear.

I saw her roll her eyes. "You know how we are with electronics," she commented with the same lack of interest in the conversation. Then I saw, as if to prove her point, her phone freeze.

She tapped the screen and pressed all of the buttons, but to no avail.

"Speak of the devil," I sighed.

"Yeah," she stood up and semi-gently tossed her phone onto the couch. "You hungry?" she asked walking towards the kitchen.

"Yeah!" I said immediately. "When aren't I?" I followed her into the kitchen.

"Why did I even ask," she sighed rhetorically.

"We should start setting up the nerve gear. SAO starts in a few hours," I informed her.

"Go ahead." She started rummaging through the cupboard.

"Can you at least act enthused?" I complained, pouring a glass of water.

"Go ahead! Yooh!" She cheered exaggeratedly. Then she scowled.

"Ba-de!" I said, sticking my tongue out at her.

We both laughed and she sat two bowls of cereal on the table.

"Who's going first?" I asked, taking a bite and nearly spitting out the spoonful of stale food.

"Doesn't matter to me," she said, taking her own bite, "but I have to work at three." I started laughing. Before she could ask why, the awful tasted registered in her mouth and she spat it out. She scratched her tongue against her teeth for a few moments. "Want some pizza?" she asked, getting up and heading towards the fridge.

"Then I guess you can go first," I sighed. "And definitely to that pizza." I scraped our nasty cereal into the garbage and put the bowls in the sink.

"You can go first. This is something that means a lot more to you than me," she said, pulling the box of pizza out of the fridge. "How many?"

I chuckled slightly at how we could have multiple conversations at once and still understand each other completely "4. And I really want you to try it. Who knows, you might get hooked." I sat a plate next to her.

She plopped the cold but nonetheless appetizing pizza onto my plate and I headed over to the microwave with it.

"Alright," she agreed. She retreated into the living room, likely to check up on her unresponsive phone. "Put mine in when you're done please," she called over her shoulder.

I nodded in her direction, shoved my plate into the microwave, and set the timer for 60 seconds. I stood and waited until the timer went off, twisting my blonde hair mindlessly. I half-listened to the constant hum of the microwave, waiting for my thoughts to be interrupted by the beep. Coming out of my trance, I glanced at the timer, and noticed it displayed 'ERR' instead of numbers, and was still cooking.

Sighing, I reached for the handle to pull the small door open. The second my hand made contact, a loud pop made me jump away. After taking a moment to recover from the sudden sound, I looked through the small window and frowned. There sat my pizza.

..

..

..

On fire.

..

..

..

Frowning, I ripped the plug out of wall, and grabbed the fire extinguisher from the floor next to the microwave stand. I popped open the door, and the smell of flaming pepperoni invaded my nostrils. I squeezed the handle of the giant red can and put out the fire. Sighing again, I dumped the foamy pizza into the garbage, letting the burnt plate go with it.

Just as I was pulling a bag of chips out of the cabinet, my sister pranced back into the kitchen.

"What happened?" she asked, taking in the smoke in the air.

"Fire," I sighed, plopping into the kitchen chair.

"Again? You pyro," she teased, moving over to the center of the smoke.

"Oops," I teased back.

"Looks like we'll be needing a new microwave. Again," she said, peering into the box.

"Sorry," I said half-sincerely, picking a chip out of the bag.

"You know," she said, sitting across from me, "I think this is a sign."

I stopped the chip headed for my mouth. "That we shouldn't eat?" I asked, looking at her in horror.

"No," she rolled her eyes and I started munching away happily. "A sign that maybe we shouldn't play SAO..." I raised a questioning eyebrow that spat 'explain'. "Well, first my phone, and now the microwave. Maybe it's a warning."

"Seriously?" I asked, my brow still furrowed.

"Yeah."

"Paranoid much?" I teased.

"Pyro much?" she winked back.

* * *

1 o'clock, Sunday, November 6th, 2022 was almost here. Ten minutes away to be exact.

"Done!" I exclaimed contently as I looked at the completed set up of Sword Art Online. The NerveGear was prepared, and the game itself would be online the second it could connect.

"Yay," my sister sighed.

I rolled my eyes. Shaking it off, I started again "Ok, let's go over this one more time." Since this was her first VRMMORPG, MMORPG, and RPG in general, I wanted to be sure she knew what she was doing.

"I know, I know. Name the avatar whatever I want, make it look nice, but how I like because that's changeable, set the age to 16, try not to get killed too fast, keep a good reputation, don't spend too much money, the weapon is sword, and log out by two." She recited it perfectly before I could even begin to tell her again.

Stunned by her perfect recital, I shook my head and hugged her. "Exactly!"

She smiled sweetly in return.

2 minutes.

"Thank you for doing this for me," I smiled. After all, she was more into socializing than gaming, and I was the only reason she agreed to try this.

1 minute.

"Have fun!" I exclaimed as she slid the NerveGear on, and laid down on the bed.

She nodded.

"Link start!"

Her face went placid as her eyes closed and she went into the game.

I smiled and watched her for a few minutes before deciding to go watch some anime.

I was halfway through an episode of my favorite anime when the TV did something strange. The picture disappeared and was replaced by a screen with broken up colorful boxes, accompanied by an obnoxious beeping.

I glanced at the clock. 1:50. Yumiko should be out of SAO soon.

Sighing, I went up to the TV, and reached for a bundle of cords, hoping that if I yanked the right one properly, it'd work again. The second my hand touched the black wire, the TV started playing loud dramatic music.

Out of curiosity, I crawled over and plopped onto the floor in front of the TV. "BREAKING NEWS" was flying across the screen in big bold red letters. I waited as the scene changed to a reporter with puffy red eyes, and a pink nose standing in front of what looked like a cooperation building, a sign reading 'Argus'. Wow, she looked like crap.

"Breaking news," she sniffled. "It has recently been discovered that the popular new VRMMORPG, 'Sword Art Online' is actually... a death trap!" I jumped at her next actions: she dropped the microphone and burst into tears.

Wait.

What did she say about SAO?

I watched intently waiting for more information, hoping this was just some cruel joke, or that I had misheard her. A death trap? This couldn't be real. How stupid did they think we were?

Seconds later, the screen went black. Slowly letters appeared on the screen, and I read them carefully.

"Consumer Alert!

It has recently been discovered that players of the popular VRMMORPG, 'Sword Art Online' are not able to log out. The situation was first thought to be a bug, but moments ago, a note was found in the office of Kayaba Akihiko, creator of Sword Art Online. It said that the game is not a mere game, and that if players in the game die in game, they die in real life too. The situation is under investigation. Until then, do NOT attempt to remove the NerveGear of a player, since forced removal will cause the same result. So far, 213 deaths have been reported related to the game. Since all copies of Sword Art Online were requested to be registered with an address, an emergency dispatch team should be arriving at the locations of all players soon. But if you do know anyone currently in game, please call 911 regardless. Please act quickly, because it is unknown how long players' physical bodies will remain stable. Once again, do NOT remove the NerveGear, and contact 911 immediately."

I stared at the TV, shocked beyond belief. No, it couldn't be true. Could it? No, there were regulations on this kind of thing. This was impossible. Any moment, Yumiko would come into the room, and we'd laugh it off. Right. Right?

In disbelief, I stood up laughing and headed to my room, where Yumiko was playing.

Entering my room, I sat on my bed. I looked at her placid expression for a minute, then shook her shoulder, telling her it was time to log out.

2:20. She'd be back any minute now.

I waited, then I shook her again, telling her she had to go to work soon. Man, she must be having a lot of fun.

2:30.

Angrily, I shook her a bit harder, yelling that it was time for her to come out, it was my turn.

2:40.

The sound of sirens filled my ears.

2:45

Everything was hazy, it sounded like someone was pounding on the door, but everything was too foggy to know for sure. I laid down next to my sister. This was all just a dream. I heard people shouting. I heard beeping. Then I heard nothing.

..

..

Where was I?

I looked around, only to see blackness.

Oh wait, were my eyes closed?

Mentally laughing at myself, I opened my eyes. Or at least tried to. They felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. I tried again, and saw some light peek through. Again, and more light.

As my eyes slowly started to obey me, my memory did too. I was in Yumiko's room, waiting for her to come out of SAO.

"It looks like she's waking up," I heard someone say.

Yumiko?

No, that voice was deeper.

"Yukiko?" I heard my name.

I started to notice a steady beeping sound. I tried to sit up but could only twitch.

"Here," the voice said.

I felt a ton better as something cool hit my forehead. My eyes opened more and I looked around. The room was bright, almost all white. I was on a bed. The beeping seemed louder. The lights on were on the ceiling and had an industrial look.

"Where am I?" I tried to say, but only a soft 'whh' came out.

"Yukiko, you're at the hospital. You passed out. When the paramedics came to retrieve your sister, they found you on the floor. After you passed out, you hit your head on the floor," the voice informed me. "Can you hear me?"

I nodded the best I could, but it still didn't make much sense. Why did the paramedics come for Yumiko?

"Get some rest."

I couldn't really do much, so I listened to the strange voice, and let myself slip back into the blackness.

..

..

"She woke up once, but she was out again in a few minutes" he trailed off.

"What incident?" I asked again.

This time the other man spoke. "It was discovered that everyone in 'Sword Art Online' is trapped there. It has been dubbed 'The Death Game,'" he said somberly.

"..." I said nothing. There was nothing I could say.

"How do you feel?" Dr. Mei asked after a minute of silence.

"Where's Yumiko?" I asked, the information still setting in.

"Calm down, Yukiko," he said.

"Where is she?!" I demanded frantically, sitting up and looking around.

"She's right over here. Do you want to see her?" the older looking man asked.

I nodded and he motioned for me to stand. I stood up, and he quickly reached out to steady me. Slowly he guided me to the other side of the curtain that had kept me from seeing what was on the other side of the room.

As we rounded the corner, I became aware of several things:

First, was the steady beep of a heart monitor.

Second, was my sister laying in a hospital bed, NerveGear on, and the same placid face as before.

Third, this wasn't a joke. At all.

And lastly, that it was my fault my sister was trapped in the Death Game.

* * *

**A/N**

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and please review, favorite, and follow. Also, I understand this chappie was a bit choppy, but it will get better, I promise!**

**Also, a thanks to my beta animeawesomenesslover !**


	2. Chapter 2

There will be little (1)'s and (2)'s [etc] throughout the story, basically just look at the end to see hwy I did that, or what it means. I'll try to do this when using Japanese phrases [when I remember hehe], and other things that may be complicated, or I feel I need to explain. Enjoy!

* * *

I was in the hospital with Yumiko for two days before I realized what I had to do. Apologizing again, and promising her I would see her soon, I left the hospital briskly. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to leave. Actually, I wasn't really sure of the situation at all. All I knew is that neither my mom nor dad had shown up. I wasn't very surprised, we never really saw much of either of them.

A lot of people had talked to me; nurses, social workers, police officers. Asking me jumbled questions and telling me it would be okay. No friends came though, at least none of mine- mainly because I didn't have any, the only one being the one laying dormant in the bed. A few of Yumiko's friends came to visit, and a few more called, but it didn't matter. I wasn't focused on them. Yumiko was what was important.

Walking into my house, I headed straight for my room. Getting on my cursed computer, I went straight to the American website Ebay, hoping that the incident was still unknown across seas. To my dismay, what I was looking for was not there. It was two hours of checking random shady sites before I found what I was looking for- an unused NerveGear with a copy of Sword Art Online.

With a determined face I clicked the 'buy' button, only to be reminded of the price tag. 2,500 USD (1). Feeling a bit bad, I walked into Yumiko's room, stole her credit card out of her purse, and entered the number into the website. I knew she'd be mad, but if she died in game, it made no difference. After completing my purchase, I saw that the delivery time was 3 days.

3 days. I couldn't wait that long. By time then, this noob might realize what was going on and cancel the order. Checking for express shipping, I was surprised to see that the package was coming from Japan. Tokyo, in fact. I quickly typed up a note to the seller, explaining that it was for my sister for her birthday and I needed it urgently. It was about 20 minutes later when I got a reply reading:

**'I understand, if you would like, I can meet you somewhere in Tokyo and give you the package in person.'**

I knew it was a bad idea. It was so shady. In fact, it was basically the intro to a hentai. I'd probably be murdered, but what did it matter if Yumiko was dead? After a few moments of contemplation, I typed my reply.

**'Shady, but I guess it'll work. Meet me at Sakura's Sushi in the market district. 10 AM tomorrow. I have blonde hair, and will be in a red shirt. Name's Onika.'**

The next reply came in moments.

**'Ok, I'll be in a suit with a box. Name's Oberon.'**

Sighing, I shut down the computer and crawled into bed despite the fact that it was only 6 PM. I knew that getting the NerveGear was a long shot, and very dangerous, but it couldn't be worse than the situation I got my sister in. If anything happened to me, I deserved it. I wondered if she was okay. Was she even still alive? Yeah, she must be. The hospital would've called if she had died. Was she really scared? Was she mad at me? And there I fell asleep with all of my thoughts haunting my consciousness.

* * *

I woke up around 9 the next morning. Though I was usually not a morning person, recently sleep wasn't much of a enjoyment- the lack of it even showed on my face. Putting on a red T-Shirt and a pair of faded jeans, I grabbed my pocket knife and headed out the door. I knew my four inch knife wouldn't do much, but it eased my mind. And that's what counted, right?

With an hour to spare, I walked through my neighborhood, slowly making my way to the outskirts of Tokyo. It was 9:30 when I decided to board the train to the market district. Pushing my way through the crowds, I walked into the busy sushi shop. Sitting down, I ordered a table for two and a small drink. I watched the door for about 15 minutes. Then I saw a tall man, with dark hair and a suit enter. He turned and I saw him holding a box leaned on his hip.

I wanted to wave, but I couldn't be 100% sure it was him. Even though he fit the description perfectly, I had a knack for getting the wrong person. So instead, I just stared at him. If it wasn't him, he'd just think I was some creepy girl, which didn't matter to me. After a brief talk with a waitress, he headed over to me.

"Onika?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, Oberon?" I double checked.

"Nice to meet you," he smiled extending his hand. Despite my despair, I forced a smile and shook the extended hand. "It's all here," he smiled, setting the box on the table.

"I-is I ok if I check?" I asked with a nervous smile. I didn't want to be rude, but after all I did pay a lot of money for it.

"I understand," he chuckled lightly. "Check away."

I untucked the flaps of the cardboard box, and sure enough there it was. Careful not to show anyone the contents, I peered around, seeing the game. I closed the box again. I would just have to trust him from there.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"Not a problem. I guess I'll be going. Nice to meet you." He smiled once more, then disappeared out the door into the flow of people.

Walking to my house, I headed straight for the kitchen. I set the box down gently on the table and found a notepad in the drawer. Clicking the pen, I touched the wet tip to the paper and began writing.

_'This is wrong of me, I know and I'm sorry, but it's something I owe my sister. I'll see you all when we beat the game._

_Love you,_

_Yukiko.'_

Throwing the pen down in haste, I left the room. Running into my room, I hooked up the NerveGear much faster than before. I was astounded to see that the game was actually in its case, unopened. Still wary, I got the game online and sat on my bed with the helmet in my hand.

I took a deep breath. I was really about to do this. I was excited to finally get to play the game, and see my sister, but I was also nervous. This was practically suicide. Once I started, I would be stuck. Trapped just like everyone else. Most of the people, if not all of them, probably wished that they could be out of the death game, that they had never played it. And here I was entering the game, fully aware of the risk.

Deciding not to think about it anymore, I put the helmet on my head. I calibrated it and made sure it would actually work. Finally, I connected it to my computer and lay down on the bed.

"Link start!"

* * *

(1) I used US currency for this particular situation just because the majority of people reading this so far are from the US

Another thanks to my awesome beta, **animeawesomenesslover **!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please bear with me, it'll get more interesting soon, I promise (:

Please review, follow, and favorite c:


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